Holiday Fund: Your chance to help those in need

The economy of Silicon Valley is booming for many residents — but not all of them. While some of us may have regular work, others are down on their luck, without jobs, adequate health care or the services they need for their family. Many will not make it through the winter without help.

The Voice Holiday Fund is a way for individuals and small businesses to leverage their donation to help hundreds of the less fortunate. With its foundation grants, the Holiday Fund can match, to the extent possible, donations to seven local nonprofit agencies that help the hungry and homeless, families in trouble or those needing health care.

In March of this year, each agency received more than $10,000, their share of the $70,000-plus contributed to last year’s campaign by Voice readers and the foundations that support the Holiday Fund.

This year’s campaign will be helped by generous donations from the Wakerly Family Foundation, in memory of Voice founder Kate Wakerly; the Hewlett and the Packard foundations, as well as a contribution from the Google Tides Foundation.

We invite you to make a contribution online or by using the coupon you’ll find in the newspaper each week through the end of the year.

Money contributed to the Holiday Fund, now in its 11th year, is held by the Silicon Valley Community Foundation and will be distributed to the nonprofit agencies in March of next year. No administrative costs or fees are deducted from the Holiday Fund gifts, so 100 percent of all donations will be shared equally by the nonprofits supported by the Fund.

Here are the agencies that will benefit from this year’s Voice Holiday Fund:

Community Health Awareness Council

CHAC serves Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and seven school districts. Among other things, it offers school-based programs to protect students from high-risk behaviors, such as drug and alcohol abuse.

Day Worker Center

The Day Worker Center of Mountain View provides a secure place for workers and employers to negotiate wages and work conditions. It serves an average of 60 workers a day with job placements, English lessons, job skills workshops and guidance.

Partners for a New Generations

Partners for New Generations matches adult volunteer mentors with at-risk youth in the Mountain View, Los Altos and the Los Altos Hills area and offers tutoring to many students, including some in high school and beyond.

Community School of Music and Arts

The Community School of Music and Arts provides hands-on art and music education in the classrooms of the Mountain View Whisman School District. Nearly 45 percent of the students are socio-economically disadvantaged, and 28 percent have limited English proficiency.

Mountain View RotaCare Clinic

The RotaCare Free Clinic provides uninsured local residents with primary care and many specialty care services. The clinic is frequently the last resort for this under-served demographic group.

YWCA Support Network for Domestic Violence

This group operates a 24-hour bilingual hotline and a safe shelter for women and their children. It also offers counseling and other services for families dealing with domestic violence.

Community Services Agency

CSA is the community’s safety-net providing critical support services for low-income individuals and families, the homeless and seniors in northern Santa Clara County, including Mountain View, Los Altos and Los Altos Hills.